I wrote this article on the Starknet Edu blog. You can find the article here.
blockchain
Beyond the Blockchain
tl;dr;
- StarkWare has a set of software tools that allows for the creation of cryptographic proofs that attest to the computational integrity of the execution of a computer program
- Cryptographic proofs enable regular computers (ex. a laptop) to keep supercomputers in check
- Blockchains guarantee computational integrity by replying the same transaction over and over
- Although used to create an Ethereum layer 2, this technology can be used outside of the blockchain as well
- This technology can be the tool of choice for Enterprises
Four Challenges to StarkNet’s Success
tl;dr
- Vendor lock-in: difficulty moving away from StarkWare’s ecosystem
- System centralization: the Sequencer and the Prover are operated by StarkWare
- Steep learning curve: Cairo is hard to learn and the documentation has gaps
- Upgradable smart contracts: StarkWare can make changes at any time
The Three Paths for Smart Contract Scalability
tl;dr;
- A smart contract blockchain can scale with hardware, with an optimistic rollup or a zk-rollup
- Solana’s hardware scaling solution suffers from lack of decentralization and sync issues
- Optimistic rollups (Optimism) rely on off-chain verifiers and has a 6 days finality on L1
- zk-rollups (StarkNet) submits and verifies validity proofs on-chain increasing security but also data usage of L1
- Optimistic rollups are cheaper but zk-rollups are more secure
5 Ways to Influence the Value of your ERC20 Token
Creating a new crypto currency is extremely easy. In less than 5 minutes you can create and deploy your very own ERC20 token on Ethereum or any other EVM compatible blockchain. Does it mean that your new token will be competing in market cap with the likes of AXS or GALA? Of course not, your new token is most likely worthless.
How do you make your token valuable? In the words of Peter Thiel, how do you go from 0 to 1? In this article we are going to explore 5 different mechanisms that could help provide value for your token.
NFTs and Decentralized Storage
In a previous article I showed you the risks of owning an NFT when its assets are stored on a regular server (AWS, Dropbox, etc.). In our story, Bob, the creator of the NFT, was able to play some tricks on Jim, the owner of the NFT, because he had complete control over the server where the assets of the NFT (image and metadata) were stored.
The Hidden Risks of Owning an NFT
In a previous article I showed you at a high level what an NFT is: an entry on the blockchain that has the information of who owns the image and where the image is located. I depicted that relationship with the image below.
What’s an NFT?
The picture below is an NFT that belongs to a collection called Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC) and is valued at around $350,000 US dollars and now it’s mine.
Decentralized Identity with Proof of Humanity
Bots are a big problem in web2 and web3. Tools like reCaptcha can help to stop simpler bots but not the more advanced ones. There are also “farms” where people in poor countries are paid to defeat this mechanisms for some nefarious purpose. Even when a real human is behind the keyboard, the ability to create multiple fake accounts can also be problematic for things like product reviews on Amazon, online harassment or even online voting.
The Probabilities of Breeding Pure Axies
tl;dr; The probabilities of obtaining at least two pure offspring when breeding two pure Axies twice is 7.97%, three times 19.41%, four times 31.75%, five times 43.52%, six times 54.09% and seven times 63.2%
Update: A new article is available with a more realistic model and probabilities.
The Metaverse vs Nation States
Perhaps the most intriguing aspect of blockchain games for me is that they might be the embodiment of the metaverse, digital nations with citizens, government, jobs, investment opportunities, policies and even taxes. Granted, the only blockchain game that I have explored so far is Axie Infinity but the more I learn about it the more evident the similarities with nation states become.
Four Ways to Transfer Assets to the Ronin Sidechain
Updated on September 3rd 2021
To either play or invest in Axie Infinity you will need three types of Assets: ETH, SLP and AXS. ETH is used to purchase Axies from the marketplace while SLP and AXS are ERC20 tokens that are required for breeding them.
Starting an Axie Breeding Farm
tl;dr;
To start a profitable breeding farm you will need three high purity (>90%) Aqua Axies that have the following body parts: Sponge (back), Risky Fish (mouth), Shoal Star (horns) and Nimo (tail). If purity needs to be sacrificed for affordability do it on the eyes and ears of an Axie.
Update: The research for this article was done previous to Sky Mavis announcing changes in their reward system that had a ripple effect on the Marketplace decreasing the value of some types of Axies.
Axie Infinity, the Money Printing Machine
In this new generation of apps where blockchain meets video games new vehicles for investment arise that use NFTs in a novel way. Axie Infinity has been at the forefront of the movement with a staggering growth of its user base and volume transacted in its marketplace.
In a previous article I did an analysis of Axie Infinity’s blockchain tech stack to understand how robust their technology is before even considering a credible investment opportunity. You can find a link to that article here. Today I’ll focus instead on analyzing its investment potential.
Axie Infinity and the Power of Blockchain Games
Updated on August 23rd 2021
These days everyone has already heard about cryptocurrencies and a growing number of people have even purchased assets like bitcoin and ether. But cryptocurrencies are just the tip of the iceberg of what blockchain technologies can do. Last year the biggest news in the space was DeFi and although it’s an interesting space it didn’t drive a significant level of adoption to the blockchain. This year however seems to be the year of the NFTs and in particular, the year of the blockchain games.
[Spanish] Bitcoin salvó a mis padres
Hace un par de meses tomé la decisión de renunciar mi trabajo para dedicarme a estudiar las tecnologías que hoy en día se conocen como “blockchain”. No fue una decisión fácil debido a que pasar varios meses sin ingreso económico y viviendo en una ciudad extremadamente cara como Toronto, mis ahorros se verían seriamente afectados. Pero no pude evitarlo, vi demasiadas señales a mi alrededor que apuntaban a que estamos al borde de una transformación social que va a estar apalancada por un nuevo sistema económico basado en riqueza y no en deuda. Bitcoin, creo yo, será el catalizador de esa transformación.